EU needs tighter security for carbon trading says PwC

PWC HAS urged the European Commission to invest in the prevention of cyber attacks against its pioneering emissions trading scheme (ETS).

The entire ETS was shut down last week after about €30m (£26m) carbon credits went missing during a series of cyber attacks on the ETS systems.

The European Commission decided to shut down the ETS after countries including Czech Republic, Greece, Austria, Estonia and Greece stopped trading following various cyber attacks.

William Beer, director of information security at PwC, said the attack had exposed a “significant” lack of security. The European Commission needs to mandate much tighter security measures which all members must adhere to, he added.

“The Commission put the size of the theft at as much as €30m. With the level of disruption caused, any investment in prevention would be relatively small in comparison to the size of the loss. Investment in security measures can pay for itself many times over and can help in protecting corporate reputation as well as reducing incidents of theft, loss and fraud,” said Beer.

Companies in member states of the European Commission are given credits for the amount of carbon they emit. The companies can sell or buy extra credits on an ETS market.

The carbon market, which began in 2005, was worth €92bn and accounted for about seven billion tonnes of carbon in 2010, The Guardian reports.